Produced
by Madras Talkies, this long-awaited movie
brings together so many talents - Mani
Ratnam directs, Suhasini Mani Ratnam pens
the dialogues, Santosh Sivan cranks the
camera, Vairamuthu handles the lyrics
and Sabyasachi Mukherji designs the costumes.
To top it all, our own A.R. Rahman takes
charge of the music section. Explosive,
isn’t it? The title itself suggests
that ‘abduction’ could be
the central theme of the story. By the
way, the actors are Vikram, Aishwarya
Rai Bachchan, Prithviraj, Karthik, Prabhu
and Priya Mani. All lyrics are by Vairamuthu.

Veera...Vocals: Vijay Prakash,
Keerthi Sagathia,
Mustafa Kutoane

A taut tempo dictates this song which
seems to touch lightly upon African music
and rhythms. The

rhythms conjure up a dense forest atmosphere.
The defiant tone of a man, who fancies himself as
half-asura, half-God. May climb the charts.
Usure Pogudhey...Vocals: Karthik
An intense number with brooding drum work, violins
and a wee bit of guitar. Very minimal input from instruments.
The song reflects the agony of a man trying to reach
out for the forbidden fruit. Excellent vocals from
Karthik add a shine to this Kiravani scale-based song.
Listen to it a couple of times and you are hooked.

Kodu Poatta...Vocals: Benny Dayal

A rather meaty song for Benny this time around and
he has just let rip! The aggressive stance of a man,
who does not like being fettered by anything. Well-knit
drums and guitars convey the same emotion too, with
only the instrumental interludes softening the song
now and then. This song is an interesting mix of folk
rhythms and Arabian music. Like an Abhang, this song
suddenly picks up speed, but at the end.

Kaattu
Sirukki...Vocals: Shankar Mahadevan, Anuradha
Sriram

This is a typical ‘Rahman formula’ number,
but what rivets you here is the peculiar use of Anuradha’s
voice as part of background music. Shankar Mahadevan
and Anuradha vie with one another in bringing out
minute ‘sangatis’ right through the song
which keeps it lively all along. Dramatic lyrics (with
exquisite imagery) that portray the moral dilemma
of a modern-day Ravanan! Do we hear the Natabairavi
scale? With good visuals, it could make an appeal.

Kalvare...Vocals: Shreya Goshal

Very soft and sensual use of flute (Navin) and sitar
(Asad Khan) mesmerize you and so does Shreya’s
voice. How beautifully she differentiates the three
‘la’ sounds in the line ‘vali migum
idangal---.’ The tabla and ghatam add some more
‘sowkyam’ to this melody. You seem to
hear Behag raga, but you can’t be sure. Has
a vague S.D. Burman-ish appeal to it.

Kedakkari...Vocals: Benny Dayal, Bhagyaraj, Rayhanah,
Tanvi Shah

This song is all about a rustic wedding celebration,
but Rahman being Rahman, brings his own musical sensibilities
into it and adds a lot of fizz. Such a happy use of
oud, shehnai and nagaswaram! The orchestration too
is very rich. This Sankarabaranam raga-based song
may serve to lighten up our mood as we sit through
this taut film.

Verdict:

The trilingual aspect of this movie seems to have
steered Rahman into expressing himself a tad cautiously
as far as Carnatic ragas are concerned. Nevertheless,
this is a brisk and riveting album. The percussive
aspect certainly deserves applause because of its
muted nature. Though Karthik’s song looms large,
all songs have the possibility of hitting the charts.